Proper marketing needed to attract more data centers in Philippines

MANILA, Philippines — While the country’s industrial property market has potential offerings for data center operators, proper marketing is needed to attract more investments into the country, a professional services and investment management firm said.

Colliers Philippines director for Capital Markets and Investment Services Paul Chua said that industrial spaces outside of Metro Manila can cater to the requirements of data center operators.

“The locations that are now open to them are potential industrial space. I think we’re competitive in terms of that,” he said.

Chua, however, said that most data center operators are looking for a Metro Manila location. “They want a Metro Manila presence, then their secondary or tertiary sites will be outside of Metro Manila,” Chua said.

“So what we’re trying to push is for them to start looking outside Metro Manila, where all of their requirements can be met,” Chua said, emphasizing the need to properly market these industrial spaces outside of Metro Manila.

He shared that one of their clients recently had a roadshow in Singapore, where its regional office was marketing properties outside of Metro Manila to data center clients.

“It can work, and we’re competitive also. We just need to market it properly,” Chua said.

Colliers said data centers are among the thriving sectors that would drive industrial space demand in the Philippines beyond 2022.

It said that industrial parks should be the preferred locations of data center operators given their available land size and power requirements.

“The planned completion of 140 hectares of industrial park space in the Cavite-Laguna Batangas (CALABA) corridor from 2022 to 2024 provides more opportunities for data center investors to lock in spaces in these locations,” Colliers said.

Colliers is urging industrial developers to corner demand from data centers, especially with the Philippines becoming an attractive hub in the region.